Wiki Acts:Proper Deleting Act
Administrators are granted the right to delete pages as they deem necessary. This can be done for a multitude of reasons in order to keep the wiki tidy, informative, and pleasing. The purpose of this act is to suggest a proper protocol that should, as often as possible, be kept while deleting pages in order to maintain a transparent record. Proper Deletion Guidelines As these are guidelines, this protocol does not need to be followed exactly. However, in an effort to leave a visible editing trail for reasons of record-keeping, it is suggested to follow these guidelines as often as one is able. The Deletion Interface Administrators should be familiar with the options that appear on the drop-down menu when deleting a page. The reasons for deletion change depending on whether or not an admin is attempting to delete a regular article (which extends to user pages, blogs, etc.) or a file (an image or other form of media). When deleting an article, the following reasons (also viewable here) are given for selection: *Vandalism and problems ** Copyright violation: If a page directly violates a copyright to a severe degree (i.e. is a carbon-copy of a copyrighted, printed text), it should be deleted. Admins should keep in mind that, as this is a fanon wiki, many of the content here is still a work in progress. Admins should be willing to work with creators to phase out copyrighted material and replace such with original content wherever possible, and deletion should only be done as a last resort. ** Spam: Pages that consist of either internal or external copied material are not useful to the wiki and should be deleted. Unlike copyright violations, spam often consists of original content from the user which becomes copied and pasted (either across multiple articles or multiple times throughout the same article), often in an attempt to gain attention. An exception to this lies within personal user subpages or blogs as well as sandbox pages, where individuals are free to spam without repercussions. ** Vandalism: Malicious edits made to undermine the integrity of the wiki are considered vandalism. These may take on many forms, such as the inclusion of gibberish, the addition of irrelevant or incorrect content, attacks on individuals or groups of people, and many more. Vandalism sometimes features the use of spam, though not all spam is necessarily vandalism - in the case of this overlap, it is suggested to select the "Vandalism" option when deleting the page. ** Made by an idiot: See "Author request" below. This option is a joke and should only be used when an admin is deleting a page that they themselves created. While the Fan-Ball community is relatively close-knit, please refrain from using this option except when deleting your own page. Even if you and the content creator are aware that this is a joke option, it may look rather unprofessional to newcomers and scare them away from creating new articles. *Maintenance ** Author request: If the creator of a page has asked for it to be deleted, it should be done so as soon as convenient. Restoration is always more preferred than deletion, and if an idea is salvageable, it is suggested for an admin to work with the content creator involved whenever possible. If an admin is deleting their own page that they have created, they have the option of selecting the above "Made by an idiot" option, though this is never required in any case. ** Housekeeping: "Housekeeping" is a catch-all option that can be used while an admin is undergoing a string of repetitive edits to accomplish a set goal. (For example, an admin begins to spend their time working to edit, fix, restore, and delete thirty pages and fifteen files all related to a user's Stick Ranger stage idea. Any deletions made during this time related to this chain of edits can be filed under "Housekeeping".) It is suggested to include an additional summary of why the page is being deleted, though it is not necessary - the purpose of this option is to save time during these edit sprees. ** Marked for deletion: Pages tagged with Template:Delete that have a valid reason attached may be deleted. ** Quality control: Pages that do not meet the wiki standard of spelling, punctuation, grammar, or formatting may be deleted if: A) the original creator of the article cannot be contacted or does not wish to work on the page any more, B) no other user wishes to step in and edit the page's mistakes, and C) no pertinent information or ideas are salvageable from the page. It is always suggested to try and edit a page rather than delete it. If an article seems to have some merit to it, consider adding Template:Quality or Template:Stub/Template:Stub2 instead where applicable. ** Orphaned page: Articles that are not linked to from any other place on the wiki, while not always an indicator of a page ready for deletion, are the easiest to remove. If an article listed in is not tied to any larger series, idea, or other group, has not been edited or referenced in quite some time, and does not contain any necessary information that cannot be found elsewhere on the wiki, it may be deleted. However, as usual, it is always suggested to attempt to fix a page first rather than to delete it. *Redirects ** Broken/Double redirect: Redirects that link to pages since deleted, as well as redirects leading to another redirect, should be deleted. ** Unused redirect: Redirects that are not linked to by any other page should be deleted, except if the redirect exists for ease of access (such as the Sandbox leading to Fan-Ball Wiki:Sandbox). When deleting a file, the following reasons (also viewable here) are given for selection. Similar rules to their above counterparts apply where applicable: *Vandalism and problems ** Copyright violation: In regards to files, copyright violations are not as big an issue, and more leniency should be given for content not created by the uploader. Files should usually only be deleted under this rationale if someone on the wiki is directly approached by the original creator of the file and asks for it to be removed. ** Spam: In addition to the rules for articles regarding spam, any image intentionally uploaded and used to accompany any spamming may be deleted, if they serve no other purpose besides such. ** Vandalism: The same rules for spam (under both sections) and vandalism (above) apply. ** Made by an idiot *Maintenance ** Author request: Both the uploader of the file and the owner of the file, if the two are not the same, may request its deletion, though the latter's decision should always be considered more important. ** Housekeeping ** Marked for deletion ** Quality control: Depending on the file being uploaded, certain guidelines are listed depending on its intended use. In the case of images relating directly to Dan-Ball fan content, creators are encouraged to mimic the Dan-Ball style whenever possible, usually featuring a black background, a 1px black border around the image, and an upload in the .png file extension. Other guidelines apply for other types of files, and depending on the placement of the file, some may be considered rules on certain pages - please feel free to consult page creators, managers, or any admins if you are lost on formatting, as it is very case-specific. ** Unused image: Images located at may be candidates for deletion if they do not serve a perceivable purpose. However, please make note of any categories the image may be placed in prior to deletion, and attempt to find a proper place to include it using the category as a guide. Alternatively, speak to Ludicrine or HankGuideDude about keeping the file in Category:Zoop for storage. *Media ** Duplicated/Superseded file: Files that are duplicates of other files should be deleted, and have their instances replaced with the other. While the original upload should usually be favored, exceptions can be made for other versions of the file with a more correct name, updated revisions, or with a significantly larger use as to save time. ** Misnamed file: Files that are named improperly may be candidates for deletion, especially in the case of files that are duplicated/superseded (see above) or have more updated versions that exist elsewhere. However, renaming the file is often the best course of action in this case. In both instances, the option of "Other reason" is listed, and chosen as a default when deleting a page. Admins are free to delete pages as they see fit, and their best judgment is to be trusted in most cases. However, it is recommended to write in a reason when selecting this option, or better still, writing in a reason in conjunction with one of the other options. Pages may be deleted for a multitude of reasons, not all of which can be supplied by the drop-down menu, and the deletion process can be quite tedious at times - it is even more tedious, however, to go through a list of deleted pages and have to undo deletions or scan through deletion logs in case of a mistake being made or in case of backtracking becoming necessary for logging. Please be sure to make use of the interface's many options when deleting a page to avoid this. For Users When dealing with articles or images that should be deleted, the first step would be to alert an active administrator that you wish to delete a page. Most of the time, the process will be streamlined, and this will be the end of all you need to do. Other times, an admin may determine that the page is not fit to be deleted, and the process will conclude. However, in some situations, the admin may decide that more community input may be needed before following through. If this is the case, there is more that a user can do beforehand. Once you have permission from an admin, place the Delete Template on the page. To use the template, please follow the instructions on the template listed, adding the template to the very top of the page you are adding it to. It is highly encouraged to use the "reason for deletion" tag. Afterwards, you're all done! For Admins Administrators should be sure to use their best judgement when deleting pages. Unless the content of the page is considered greatly unnecessary or harmful to the wiki, it is always preferred to check in with the community before deleting a page, marking it with the delete template and listing a reason why, awaiting further discussion in the comments from any who agree with or oppose the deletion. An admin should always strive to use the drop-down menu whenever possible, or leave a detailed description of why the page is being deleted if not - both is always appreciated, but one or the other is often sufficient. Regarding Redirects When renaming or moving a page, admins are given the option to uncheck the "Leave a redirect behind" option, which is an incredibly useful in keeping the wiki in a clean, tidy state. Unfortunately, users are not given this option, and moving a page will often result in at least one edit that requires administrative action - in a best-case scenario, this is the redirect page itself that needs to be deleted, while in the more common worst-case scenario, a large amount of other pages will need to correct their links. As a user, if the page you have just moved is only linked from a few pages, please go through and change the links to match the new name of the page, then alert an admin that there is an unused redirect. Otherwise, just let an administrator know that you have moved a page, and that there is an unnecessary redirect left behind as a result of it. As an admin, one should always uncheck the "Leave a redirect behind" option and follow through by fixing all links, unless the page has a long-standing history and the redirect is actually beneficial. Be ready to respond to any issues involving redirects, and skim through the frequently. Category:Wiki Acts